The Legend of Zelda: The War of the Triforce
by JMHomon
Summary: Set in a modern-day Hyrule, Link and Zelda have just signed on as new recruits of the Hyrule Castle Guard. Little do they know that their role in protecting the kingdom is still yet to come. When a powerful, evil force is awakened, it is up to Link and Zelda, along with a few unexpected allies, to put an end to it using the one thing that can stand up to it: the Triforce.
1. The Castle Guard Recruits

Officer Menendez was walking down the hall to the balcony overlooking the Great Hall. He was going to welcome the hundreds, perhaps thousands of potential new castle guards. Each step he took seemed to last an eternity. He had looked forward to this day ever since he had been promoted to his rank of Chief Petty Officer nearly four months ago. That day had coincided with the day when over 500 guards had lost their lives in an attempt to quell a mercenary rebellion in the desert to the west. Menendez had been on that particular assignment, and the nightmares he still had to this day were proof of that. The rebels were amazingly well organized, and had no trouble ambushing and massacring their men. Somehow, Menendez had survived the battles, but he felt guilty for being alive while so many of his men had been killed. So when they needed someone to train the new recruits for the guard, He had volunteered without hesitation.

But now that that day had come, he had suddenly become nervous. He was suddenly afraid that he wouldn't be able to sufficiently fulfill his duties for his students, and would fail them like he failed those who had died in the western desert. He took off his favorite military hat and wiped his brow. He went everywhere with that hat. It seemed to give him comfort. Worried though he was, he knew that he couldn't let that stop him. He was already signed up for the job, and this was the first day of training. If he stopped now, he would fail these young recruits more than if he never tried at all. He replaced his hat, continued on his way, and didn't give it another thought.

He reached the hallway where he was supposed to greet the guard recruits. A woman in military uniform was standing in front of the curtain waiting for him.

"Good morning Officer Menendez." the woman said.

"Second Lieutenant Maria Ross. What brings you here?" he asked.

"I'm just here to give you a quick briefing for the meeting. We have gathered over one thousand new recruits for training. We've also insured of an even number of recruits as per your request. The sorting will be handled by Madame Firenze as planned, although she has refused to comply with your request, claiming she cannot control how the cards choose the teams."

"Well, I still think that's a load of bull crap," Menendez said, "but I suppose it can't be helped. She's about as bull-headed as they come. Well, is everything else ready?"

"Yes sir. I've just been informed that Firenze is coming down the hall now as we speak. She should be here momentarily. The recruits are waiting for your welcome, sir. Please step this way."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Ross." And with that, Menendez walked through the curtain and toward his new students.

The castle guard recruits were patiently (and I use the term loosely) waiting for their first military briefing. Among these trainees was a young man by the name of Link. Appearance wise, he was what some would call handsome, though he didn't really see it. He had sandy-blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and had a relatively good figure. He wore a green tunic and cap. And, like the others, he was starting to get restless. They had been waiting for nearly four hours for someone to sort them into teams for their training. Suddenly, a man came onto the balcony overlooking the room. Link couldn't see his features from far away, but he recognized the uniform of a high-ranking military man.

"Welcome to the Castle guard." the man said, "I am Chief Petty Officer Menendez, and I will be your teacher for the next several months. I am honored to be In front of you all today. Looking at all of you today, I see many of potential heroes of the military. I've even been told that the princess Zelda has volunteered to join this group."

Link seemed surprised at this. He had never heard of anything like this before. The princess was joining the castle guard? Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of the guard? Link seemed to be the only one worried about this however, as everyone else was only concerned about meeting her. Chief Menendez continued his speech.

"The first thing we need to do is to pair you up into teams of two. Joining me for this task is the marvelous and mysterious Madame Firenze."

And with that, a woman came out onto the balcony. She was colorfully dressed to say the least. Her violently red dress was adorned with enough jewelry to open a store with. The headband was larger than her actual head and adjourned with more jewels than Link had ever expected possible. The wide glasses she wore had so many jewels encrusted in them that it was nearly impossible to look directly at her. And on top of that, she was wearing about fourteen hoop earrings to add to the ensemble.

"Greetings children." she said, "I am Madame Sybil Firenze: Seer, prophet, channeler and fortune-teller. It is my pleasure to be allowed to partake in this sorting ceremony. So without further ado, let us begin. My assistants are now passing special cards to each and every one of you. These cards are my special patented Aura-Reading Tarot Cards. When you have been given these cards, they will change their appearance to show a graphic representation of the holder's aura. And the more alike two cards are, the more compatible the holders are with each other."

By now, Link had received the cards that Firenze was talking about. Looking at the card, however, he could not see anything special about it. There was no image on it, only a solid black color. He was starting to believe that Firenze was out of her mind.

"I will allow all of you two hours to find your predetermined partners." Firenze said, "I trust that that will be more than enough time to locate the most compatible person in this room for you. Do not worry. We have made sure that there is an even number of you here, so no one will be left out. And so, with all that said, your time starts now."

And with that, she and Menendez left the room. Immediately, the majority of the people swarmed to an area in the center of the room. Link didn't need to be a genius to guess that they were all trying to partner up with Zelda. But this was crazy! How was he supposed to find a compatible partner using these cards when they can't even…? Wait! There is a picture on the card! It depicted a golden Triforce on a background of a rosebush. A white ribbon weaved its way around the border. Now, he understood just what he was supposed to do. He started asking some of the people who didn't rush to try and be Zelda's partner. The cards that they showed him, however, had nothing in common with his; a silver stag between two green trees with a yellow star border, a red sword engulfed in purple flames, with a green skull border, an orange fish surrounded by blue bubbles with a pink jellyfish border… nothing worked!

An hour and forty-five minutes later, Link had still not found even a slightly compatible partner to work with. And if he didn't find one soon, he would be the only one without a partner. Suddenly, he accidently bumped into someone when he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. Two cards fell to the floor.

"Oh god, I am so sorry!" Link said as he kneeled down to pick up the cards.

He looked at who he had bumped into, and his heart skipped a beat. She was a beautiful girl with autumn-brown hair, sky-blue eyes and a slender figure. She wore a well-ornamented light-purple dress cut to just above her knees and a gold circlet on her head. Link knew that he was looking at Princess Zelda, who had apparently snuck off from the crowd that had hounded her.

"I-I'm sorry." she said, "I should have been watching where I was going."

"Oh, no it's my fault." Link protested, "I was the one not paying attention."

An awkward silence fell between them, which was broken by Zelda saying, "So, you haven't had any luck finding a partner either?"

His breath had become still as he remembered where he was. "Well, not really." he admitted, "Though, I thought you would have better luck finding someone than I would. Didn't you find someone in that mess over there?"

"No. I couldn't find anyone with a card that had anything at all in common with mine."

"I couldn't get anything either. Not so much as a similar color. Well should we check each other's, just to be sure?"

"Yeah, we should, just in case."

They showed each other their cards, and were taken aback by what they saw. When they placed them side-by-side, there was no mistaking it. The two tarot cards showed the exact same Triforce, rosebush and ribbon pattern as the other. Every minute detail was a precise copy of the one next to it. Link and Zelda looked at each other, too stunned to speak.

"Times up everyone!" a voice behind them said. "I trust that you have all found your partners?

Madame Firenze and Officer Menendez had returned through the main entrance. Firenze located the nearest pair to her, which just so happened to be Link and Zelda.

"So how are we doing over here?" she asked. She looked at their cards, and jumped back as if she had just been punched in the face.

"Ay Dios mio! I can't believe it! It's a perfect match! In all my years, I've never seen anything like this!"

Menendez, who didn't seem like he understood, added in, "So what does that mean?"

Firenze looked at him as if he had just dropped from outer space. "Why isn't it obvious?" she asked, "Make them the first team! I can guarantee you won't find a better match here than these two."

And with that, the two of them departed to check the other teams. Link and Zelda had just gotten over their shock, when they decided to get to know each other better. They were so busy talking, they almost didn't notice Officer Menendez's announcement.

"All right everyone, settle down!" he called, "Now that you all have your partners, we've come across one small problem. There are exactly 687 teams here, all but one of the same sexes."

He shot an accusing glare at Madame Firenze, who responded with a look that showed that she was seriously offended.

"Nevertheless," he continued, "there are a total of one-thousand, three-hundred seventy-four of you here. We can only accommodate five-hundred. This means that only two-hundred and fifty teams will be admitted. To whittle that number down, we've prepared an obstacle course to determine how well you work with your partner. The objective is to ring the bell at the end and return to the starting line. The two-hundred and fifty teams with the best combined times will be accepted into the guard, while the rest will go home and wait for the next time. Now everyone follow me!"

We followed Menendez out to the obstacle course he had mentioned. The course was essentially a wooden tower with a bell at the top. There were several different ways of getting up to the top, but it seemed that only one would take them up fastest.

"Alright, I've got a plan." Zelda whispered.

"What do you have?" Link replied.

"You all know the rules!" Menendez called over them.

"Do you see that wooden elevator over there?"

Link looked to where she indicated. Sure enough, at the base of the tower, there was a wooden box that was connected to the top of the tower on a double-pulley system. It appeared that this elevator was the most direct way to the top.

"Start at the count of three!" Menendez shouted. "One..."

"I'll run over there and hold the elevator." Zelda started.

"Two…"

"Then we'll pull up there together."

"THREE!"

And with that, they were all off to the top. As she said, Zelda sprinted for the elevator. She was much faster than Link had expected, and got there in a matter of seconds. Link soon caught up with her, and the two of them started their ascent. It was pretty slow going, but they soon reached the top, the first pair to ring the bell. They slid down the pole to the bottom, and raced together across the finish line. Menendez and Firenze were waiting for them.

"Well, what did I tell you?" Firenze told Menendez, "The first pair to complete the course! I told you that you wouldn't find a better match."

"Alright, alright." Menendez said, "I suppose I can't argue with those results. Well then I'll be expecting a lot more from you two."

And, with that, Link and Zelda's adventure begins.


	2. Officer Menendez's Mission

Link and Zelda had been training at the castle guard for nearly two months. They had gotten used to Menendez's training missions, acknowledging that there is always a twist to them; they've made friends with many of the other recruits as well. It all seemed to finally settle down now. However, they were about to realize just how wrong they were. One day, Menendez had gathered all the recruits at the great hall. They hadn't been in the great hall since the first day they arrived. Menendez was waiting for them on the balcony.

"Good morning, recruits. I trust you all slept well." Menendez announced. "Well, you are going to have a busy few months. This next mission will test everything you know about survival. You will be dropped on an uninhabited island, where you will have to survive for thirty days, at the end of which, we will send a drop ship into the area to collect you. Your objective this time is to report directly to me at the end of the thirty days. The first teams to depart are, Judy and Tonya, Wes and Todd, Abby and Lydia, James and Samuelson, Link and Zelda. All will wait in the drop ship bay for further instructions, except for Link and Zelda; they will meet me in my office. Everyone else is dismissed until further notice."

Link and Zelda seemed confused. Why did Officer Menendez want to speak to them privately? Did it have anything to do with the mission? If so, why wasn't he going to talk to the others as well? They were just going to have to find out. They followed Menendez to his office.

"Please, have a seat." he told them when they arrived. They did so, and Menendez took his place at his desk.

"So, what's this about?" Zelda asked.

"Well, we seem to have a problem." Menendez answered. "This mission that I have just assigned includes something that I don't feel comfortable making you do."

"What do you mean by that?" Link asked.

"I told you that you would be dropped onto an uninhabited island, did I not?"

They nodded.

"Well, to be more specific, you will be dropped in the island with only a survival knife, and nothing else."

"What's wrong with that?" Zelda asked.

"What's wrong is that when we say you will have nothing else, we mean you will have nothing else."

Link and Zelda both turned a brilliant shade of bright red at the mention of this.

"Yes exactly." Menendez said turning a little flushed himself, "You will be dropped into the island without any clothing. The idea is to teach you to use only the raw materials around you, and there have been too many people who have cheated by using their clothes for various tasks in the past. I've tried to make you an exception to this rule, but my superiors will hear none of it. They seem to believe that I favor you over the other recruits. I've even tried to get them to pardon this mission altogether, but of course they especially turn a deaf ear to that. They claim that this mission is too vital to your training. This coming from a man who failed that mission miserably and claimed that the whole thing was a load of-"

"Sir!" Link interrupted, "You're getting carried away."

"Thanks, Link." Menendez said calming down, "Well, they may force you to do the mission, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. I've personally designed a suit that should meet the requirements, and still allow the two of you to be decent around each other. It still has a few major problems with it, so I'll leave the ultimate decision to you whether or not you wish to use them. I'll let you talk about it on the ship."

"Officer Menendez?" Zelda asked, "Why do you even have a mission like this if problems like these are going to happen?"

Menendez got quiet at first, but eventually he answered her.

"Honestly, when we came up with the mission, it wasn't a problem then. Originally, recruits would be on the island alone."

"But why wouldn't their partners be there?" she asked.

"Back then," he told them, "they didn't have partners. Recruits, originally, did their training solo. It was only now that we included pairs into the training session. And that was out of necessity more than anything. We needed to double our recruits this time around"

"But why is that?" Link asked.

"Now is not the time for that." Menendez said, "We need to get to the drop ships."

"Now is as good a time as any, sir." Zelda said, "You might as well tell us."

Menendez became quiet again as if deciding whether or not to tell them. Eventually, he said, "Very well. If you really want to know, I might as well be the one to tell you. Are you familiar with the outbreak in the west?"

They nodded. Officer Menendez continued, "The mercenaries there had killed over 500 of our men there. I had survived only by trying to stay out of battle until they scattered. Nobody really trusted me the same after that."

"But I thought you got promoted after it." Zelda added.

"Again, that was out of necessity. Five-hundred men is a lot of brave soldiers lost. Do you think high-ranking men were spared by the mercenaries? No, they were killed like everyone else. So naturally, there were positions that needed to be filled. They had no choice but to promote me after that."

"And what happened to the mercenaries after they scattered?" Link asked.

"Nobody really knows for sure. Some say they disbanded. Bull crap if you ask me. I think they're still out there, waiting to attack again, waiting for their revenge."

Silence fell between them. Menendez got a far-away look in his eyes.

"Well then," he finally said, "shall we get going then?"

Link and Zelda followed Officer Menendez to the hangar. The other teams were already loaded into their drop ships and ready for takeoff. Menendez led them into the drop ship at the far end. When they were on the ship, there was a woman waiting for them.

"Link, Zelda," Menendez began, "This is Second Lieutenant Maria Ross. Lieutenant, this is Link and Zelda. These are the recruits that will be dropped into the island. Now, I've got to talk with the captain. Lieutenant Ross, please show these two to their changing rooms."

Menendez headed towards the front of the ship. After he was gone, Lieutenant Ross led them further into the ship. She took them to a pair of conjoining rooms, linked by a door-shaped gap in the wall, each one empty except for one bench against the wall dividing them.

"You will wait here for your drop." explained Lieutenant Ross, "We ask that you please undress and leave your clothes outside your door. The suit that Officer Menendez mentioned is hanging on the far wall there. We will be arriving at the island in a half an hour. You have until then to make your decision."

Link and Zelda entered their respective rooms and did as they were told. Link examined the suit that Menendez had wanted them to wear. It appeared to be made out of orange-colored spun steel or some other indestructible substance. It had heavy padlocks on the sleeves, legs and collar. He didn't have to be a genius to figure out it probably weighed a ton.

"And they expect us to wear these things and live?" Link said to Zelda, who was, no doubt examining it for herself in the other room.

"I don't think we'll be able to make it down the hall like this." Came her reply. "Let alone onto the island. If they drop us in the water, we'll drown before we make it there. But if we land directly on the island, we'll splatter on impact."

"But is it really any worse than the alternative?" Link asked.

"That's what I'm trying to decide." she told him.

Link sat down on the lone bench to think this through. After a while, Zelda said, "Well, I don't believe I'm any more afraid of you seeing me than you are of me seeing you."

"Honestly, I can't say I'm not nervous at all." Link admitted.

"No, I didn't mean not at all, but just not enough. I'm as nervous as anyone would be in this situation, but not so much that I can't go through with it."

Link pondered this explanation, and then answered, "Alright, that sounds about right. Besides, we don't really have a choice here if we can't even move in those suits."

"That's what I figured." Zelda said, "So, It's settled? We'll take it on as is?"

"I suppose so." Link said, "At least this way, Menendez won't get in trouble with his superiors for going behind their backs."

"That's another good point." Zelda said, "I don't suppose he really ran this by them, did he?"

"No, I don't think he did. You know how he likes to try to skirt around the rules."

She came around to Link's side of the room. Every inch of her body seemed to be radiating beauty. Link thought she looked even more beautiful now than she did before, though he had to force himself not to think about it. She went and sat beside him and said, "If we're going to do this, we might as well get used to it now rather than later."

"You're right." he answered, "We had better get over this early so we can focus on the mission."

They sat together in awkward silence for the rest of the trip.

Menendez stood at the drop off platform, looking down at the water they were now hovering over. Soon, he became aware that two people had approached him.

"We're ready to go Officer Menendez." Zelda told him.

He turned to face them, and was surprised to see that Link and Zelda had decided against wearing the suits he had designed. They looked him in the eyes, slightly embarrassed, but determined. He was at a loss for words, but it was Link who spoke next.

"It's all right sir." He told him, "Zelda and I have already talked it through, so we know what we're doing."

Menendez's voice found him at last. "So you two are sure about this?"

They both nodded and said together, "Sir, yes sir."

He sighed, "Very well then. We've arrived at the island. Please, jump whenever you are ready." and with that, he stepped back.

Link and Zelda approached the edge. They were hovering about six feet above the water. They could see the island clearly. It had white beaches, a thick wooded area, and for the next thirty days, it would be their home.

"Well, this is it." Link said, "Are you ready?"

"Of course I'm ready." Zelda answered.

Their hands intertwined, they gazed into each other's eyes and smiled. Then they jumped together, hand in hand, into their next adventure.


	3. The Island

Link and Zelda arrived at the shore of the island on which they were going to live for the next thirty days. The warm sun felt welcoming on their damp bare skin. They knew that the only way to survive was to work together, divide the tasks between them, and cover more ground. Their first problem was to find food. They soon found that, while the island was uninhabited, there were still several wild animals around. Link had proven to be adept at trapping them. Also, Zelda had been able to find some berries and herbs, and somehow knew how to distinguish those that were safe to eat from those that weren't.

Shelter had proven them more of a challenge. Unable to find a place suitable enough, they had to try to make one for themselves. This is where their knife proved most useful in a place where it was already a priceless tool. With the ability to carve wood and cut leaves, they had managed to craft a large and sturdy lean-to shelter able to withstand anything thrown at it, while still being big enough to accommodate both Link and Zelda. Finding water was no trouble at all. They simply followed some of the animals to a nearby spring, where they could get drinking water. So, by working together, they managed not only to survive, but to thrive. As they did everything together, they knew that this was going to be easy.

In fact, it was too easy. No matter how they looked at it, there was no way Menendez could have left this mission like this. There had to be a catch. And on the twenty-fourth day, the twist became clear.

Link had been doing some maintenance on their shelter while Zelda was out gathering berries. He was still preoccupied with trying to figure out what Menendez was going to throw at them, when Zelda returned with his answer.

"Link!" she whispered urgently, "I think I've found Menendez's twist."

Link looked alarmed at this, but he followed her without another word. He decided that anything that could worry her so much had to be a problem. She led him to a clearing deep into the woods, where they hid behind a bush. There, Link could see what the problem was. In the center of the clearing, was a small aircraft, apparently built for stealth. Several men in uniform were patrolling it with handguns.

"This has to be our way off this island." Link said, "But I highly doubt that they'll just let us take it."

"I agree." Zelda added, "If this is a deserted island, I can't see why else they would be here at all, let alone armed."

"So what's your plan?" he asked.

"Well, this is the twenty-fourth day, right? That means we have six days to set the field to our advantage."

The next six days went by as Link and Zelda prepared for their attack. They spent their time rigging the area around them with traps similar to those used to catch the animals. The last day of preparation was spent preparing the first trap to be sprung: the one at the edge of the clearing. They had to do so with extreme caution, considering that their target was close by.

Finally, the day of the attack came. They took their position behind their trap, and waited. They had determined that there were seven of the men there, so they wanted all seven to be out when they struck. Once the seventh man had come out of the craft, Link took a stick, and snapped it in half. As they had figured, the men became suspicious of the noise, and one went to investigate. They waited as he came closer… closer… and then… SNAP!

Zelda pulled the trigger on the trap. A tree branch flung forward, throwing with it a large net. The branch lashed the first guy in the head, knocking him out, while the net ensnared the rest. Their cover blown, Link and Zelda ran off to put a safe enough following distance between them and the six men who, no doubt, would soon be rid of the net. Sure enough, the men pulled off the trap, and followed pursuit. Those guys were a lot faster than they looked, so they were closing in on them fast.

Link and Zelda started to get worried they wouldn't make it. But, just then, they saw the cliff face they were looking for. They skirted along it looking for the crevice to hide in. Then, in a split second, Link spotted it, pulled Zelda into it, and held her tightly to minimalize view. Luckily, the men raced past them, and didn't suspect a thing. After a while, they heard a sharp CRACK! And they knew that those guys had set off another trap, and at least one more was unconscious.

"Are you all right?" Link asked Zelda.

"Uh, yeah I am." Zelda admitted.  
Then she looked down and gasped. Link looked to see the problem, and wished he hadn't. When he pulled her into the crevice and held her, he accidentally placed his hand over her breast, and was pressing against it.

Link immediately jumped back and yelled, "I-I didn't mean that!"

"Wait! There they are!"

The men in uniform had heard them and were coming back at them. They cursed and ran off in the other direction. Link looked back, and saw that there were only four of them left, so their trap must have taken out two more. But now panic started to fill them. They had to stray off the plan, and their only thoughts now were to get away. They took a detour through a more heavily wooded area when Zelda pulled them off the path. They ran through foliage of all sorts to try and get away. Link thought they had lost their pursuers, but he didn't dare look back. He just let Zelda pull him along as far as they could get.

All of a sudden, the ground gave away under them. They fell down, hitting a few rocks on the way down, until they hit the forest floor. Link figured that they had fallen down a cliff.

"Are you okay Zelda?" Link said in a strained voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you?" she said shakily.

"I'm alright." he answered.

They opened their eyes, and realized where they were. They were in an area of the forest with many trees. The trees were all golden brown in color. The area was filled with the fresh scent of autumn. Dead leaves littered the ground around them.

They were lying facing each other, with Zelda on top of Link. Their bodies were pressed against each other. Their faces turned scarlet as they gazed into each other's eyes, too stunned to speak. They could hear their hearts beating heavily against their chests. Then, slowly, they moved closer, wrapping their arms around each other. Their lips coming closer… and closer together… until…

"Hey, I've found them! They're over here!"

Link and Zelda jumped back and separated. Their pursuers had found them again and would soon be on top of them. They couldn't get away this time. This looked like the end. But then, as if by sheer luck, Link's hand found something on the ground underneath the leaves. He felt the object, checked his surroundings, and realized what it was. He motioned for Zelda to do the same, and she understood. They waited as the men came closer. Thirty feet… twenty feet…

"NOW!" Link yelled.

And with that, he and Zelda grabbed the rope behind them and pulled with all their might. A net, hidden under the layer of fallen leaves rose from under their pursuers and scooped them up. They were so surprised that they dropped their weapons as they were trapped, rising higher into the trees. Link tied the rope around the trunk of a nearby tree while Zelda policed their weapons. She unloaded one of the handguns and examined the ammunition.

"Stunners." she said, "That explains why they didn't shoot while they were chasing us. They won't work at a distance with a handgun."

"Well, we'd better take them anyway." Link said, "Just in case there's someone on the ship."

They made their way back to the clearing. Cautiously, they entered the ship, keeping ready to attack if necessary. They searched the whole ship top to bottom, but didn't find anyone. What they did find was their clothes waiting for them.

"Well, I suppose that if there was any doubt about this being one of Menendez's tricks, it's gone now." Link said, "I think it's time we got this bird moving then."

Zelda went to the controls, read through the manual, and found the autopilot control. She entered the coordinates, and the two of them took off to complete the mission.


End file.
